Sony, Microsoft Lobby Against Right To Repair Bills (Yet Refuse To Talk About It)

Last week, we noted how Apple was one of several companies lobbying against a right to repair bill in Nebraska. The bill would make it easier for consumers to repair their own products and find replacement parts and tools, which is generally considered to be a good thing — especially if the only Apple store is eighty miles away from your current location. But Apple tried to argue that Nebraska’s bill would not only make the public less safe (self-immolation everywhere!), but it would also result in Nebraska becoming some kind of “mecca” for nefarious hoodie-wearing ne’er-do-well hackers.

Of course Apple, like most companies, just enjoys a repair-monopoly, which not only allows it to charge an arm and a leg for what very well may be superficial repairs, but helps prop up closed, proprietary ecosystems, hurting customers in a myriad of other ways as well.

It’s not just in Nebraska where this conversation is happening (the Nebraska bill just happens to be the furthest along legislatively). Similar bills are also winding their way through New York, Minnesota, Wyoming, Tennessee, Kansas, Massachusetts, and Illinois state legislatures. And in most of these states, the companies lobbying against these laws are using the same disingenuous arguments Apple has been embracing. Usually it’s the trifecta of false claims that the bills will make users less safe, pose a cybersecurity risk, and open the door to cybersecurity theft.

Game console makers Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft, long at the forefront of opposing the user right to tinker, fired off a letter last week (pdf) under the banner of the Entertainment Software Association that once again trots out all three bogeymen in taking aim at Nebraska’s law:

“We are concerned that legislative Bill 67 would jeopardize consumer safety and security, is unnecessary and compromises intellectual property….Customer safety, security and privacy are fundamental goals in the design of our membership’s hardware, software and services…Our free market economy already provides a wide-range of consumer choice for repair with varying levels of quality, price and convenience without the mandates in this legislation.”

Note they cite a “free market economy” in the hopes you’ll ignore the fact that they’ve effectively monopolized repair to the detriment of price and convenience. Companies like Sony and Microsoft would certainly prefer that you pay them exorbitant fees to repair what’s often their own manufacturing errors that they charge upwards of $200 to fix, but could have been repaired for notably less. Both Sony and Microsoft have also long placed tamper-proof stickers on their game consoles claiming removal of the sticker violates the warranty, even though this technically violates the 1975 Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act.

Justification for repair bill opposition is so flimsy, none of the companies opposing right to repair legislation want to really talk about it:

“After referring me to several different press representatives, Microsoft declined to comment. Sony did not respond to a request for comment. Apple has ignored repeated requests for comment. The ESA declined to comment. In two years of covering this issue, no manufacturer has ever spoken to me about it either on or off the record.”

“We won’t make as much money if independent, local repair shops can help customers” isn’t a very compelling argument. But as usual, buying or hoodwinking a campaign-contribution-soaked Congress with a fleeting understanding of technology isn’t particularly hard:

“It’s very easy for the manufacturer to stand up there and say no we’re the only ones who know how to do it,” Kyle Wiens, CEO of iFixit, told me. “Lawmakers get spun stories by lobbyists who say the sky is falling, and it’s very easy to kill legislation.”…”This is not a case of right vs. left or a fringe interest group pushing it,” Wiens added. “Everyone wants to be allowed to fix their stuff, and there’s only a few organizations that don’t want them to be able to. It’s very transparent why manufacturers are against this.”

In Nebraska, the right to repair bill was driven by John Deere’s “authorized” repair requirements, which forced many regional farmers to pay John Deere an arm and a leg for, again, what in many instances may be relatively inexpensive and simple repairs. It’s not only a monopoly over repair — it’s the cornerstone of an adversarial and utterly non-transparent relationship with the consumer. And the fact that the companies taking aim at these legislative proposals aren’t even willing to publicly talk about them speaks volumes in and of itself.

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The Voice of the Innovation Economy
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State Privacy and Security Coalition, Inc.
February 1, 2017
The Honorable Lydia Brasch
Nebraska State Legislature
Ftoom #1022
PD. Box 94604
Lincoln, NE 68509
RE: Electronic Products Manufacturers Opposition to Legislative Bill 67
Dear Senator Brasch:
On behalf of the thousands of technology companies our organizations represent, we
appreciate the opportunity to comment on Legislative Bill 67, legislation that would mandate
manufacturers of digital electronic products sold or used in Nebraska to make available for
purchase that equipment?s diagnostic and repair information, software, tools, and other parts to
independent repair facilities and device owners.
Our organizations represent a broad spectrum of electronic products manufacturers that stand
behind the quality of their products. These companies are committed to ensuring the safety and
security of both their consumers and the products themselves. We are concerned that
Legislative Bill 6? would jeopardize consumer safety and security, is unnecessary and
compromises intellectual property. Fort these reasons and more, we must oppose is
legislation.
Legislative Bill 67 threatens consumer safety and security
Customer safety, security and rivac are fundamental goals in the design of our membership?s
hardware, software and services. Smartphones, computers, servers and other devices are
constantly at risk from hackers and any weakening of those standards such as sharing sensitive
diagnostic tools will increase risks to consumers. Manufacturers also have strong concerns
about independent service providers who may take risks or cut corners leaving themselves or
consumers in danger if they perform service without the proper training or safety standards.